Current Drug Targets-CNS & Neurological Disorders - Volume 4, Issue 5, 2005

Scientific research in cognition and cognitive pharmacology is entering an exciting era. Not only are we beginning through intensive investigations around the world, to better understand the synaptic and molecular mechanisms underlying cognition and cognitive disorders, but several therapeutic targets are also being examined for developing cognitive therapeutic agents and many more are starting to emerge. The ex Read More

This review will focus primarily on the role of the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP-1) in neuronal synapse formation and function in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). We review the role that its ligands may have in cognition or AD: apolipoprotein E (ApoE), α2-macroglobulin, Transforming Growth Factor-Beta (TGFβ), Tissue Plasminogen Activator (tPA), insulin growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), which all Read More

In neurons, appropriate long-term adaptive responses to changes in the environment require the conversion of extracellular stimuli into discrete intracellular signals. Many of these signals involve the regulation of gene expression. The cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) is a nuclear transcription factor that modulates transcription of genes containing cAMP responsive elements (CRE sites) in their promoters. C Read More

Memantine has been clinically used in the treatment of organic disorders in Germany for over ten years and has now been approved in Europe and also in the US for moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease. The rationale for this indication is strongly related to the physiological and pathological role of glutamate in neurotransmission. Glutamate is an agonist of NMDA, kainate and AMPA (ionotropic) receptors, where its influence Read More

Since the discovery of an endogenous cannabinoid system, research into the pharmacology and therapeutic potential of cannabinoids has steadily increased. Two subtypes of G-protein coupled cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, have been cloned and several putative endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) have been detected during the past 15 years. The main endocannabinoids are arachidonoyl ethanolamide (ananda Read More

Low testosterone (T) levels may predispose to Alzheimer disease (AD), but it is unclear whether this is a comorbid effect due to cachexia, subclinical hyperthyroidism or other co-morbidity. The biological plausibility for potential protective effects of T on brain functions is substantial. In addition, higher levels of gonadotropins found in older cases with AD suggest that low levels of T are not due to brain degeneration and that the h Read More

PKC plays an important role in many types of learning and memory. Evidence has been provided that PKC activation and translocation are induced in associative learning tasks. PKC inhibition, on the other hand, impairs learning and memory, consistent with the observations that transgenic animal models with a particular PKC isoform deficit exhibit impaired capacity in cognition. The dramatic impact of PKC pharmacology on Read More

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a debilitating disease that affects many people. In order to reduce the number of people diagnosed with this disease, drug strategies need to be implemented that target early steps in disease pathogenesis. Elevated cholesterol levels and presence of the apolipoprotein E 4 allele increase AD risk. How these two factors may contribute to AD pathogenesis and some therapeutic strategies fo Read More

The amyloid cascade hypothesis postulates that accumulation of beta-amyloid (Abeta) plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Accordingly, much effort has gone into reducing the amyloid burden, especially in transgenic mice expressing mutations in human amyloid precursor protein. Such mice develop amyloid plaques but not neurofibrillary tangles. Immunization with Abeta and other inflammatory Read More

Classical benzodiazepines (BZs) are the most widely prescribed drugs acting on the central nervous system (CNS). They exert their therapeutic effects via binding to the BZ-site of GABAA receptors, and allosterically modulating the chloride flux through the ion channel complex. Given the multiple actions of classical BZs, the serious limitations to their usefulness have directed much research into development of novel ligan Read More

In transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis TTR variants deposit as amyloid fibrils giving origin, in most cases, to peripheral polyneuropathy, cardiomyopathy, carpal tunnel syndrome and/or amyloid deposition in the eye. More than eighty TTR variants are known, most of them being pathogenic. The mechanism of TTR fibril formation is still not completely elucidated. However it is widely accepted that the amino acid s Read More

In susceptible individuals, stressors can increase the risk of onset of depression and recent brain imaging studies have shown morphometric alterations in the limbic system of patients affected by depression. The volume loss observed in the hippocampus of depressed individuals suggests a possible involvement of structural neuronal plasticity in the pathogenesis of depression. Stressful conditions in animals can result in im Read More